Pictures – Page 8 – MagicShow.Tips

Trickanalysing: The Close Up Magic of David Copperfield

On a flight I read the book Trickanalysing The Magic of David Copperfield. This is a book from 1997 that goes through 20 of David Copperfield’s close up magic routines that he’s done on TV. This book is about the theatrical elements in the routines, not about specific methods.

The first 2/3’s of the book is the author going through and breaking down what’s theatrically happening in the routines. The final third of the book digs more into the author’s definitions of the theatrical devices used and how they could be applied to your magic. Then at the end, there are some worksheets for you to go through your magic and see what you’re using, or could be using.

Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about this book. I didn’t dislike it, however, I’m not in love with it. It was definitely interesting, but I’m not sure how much of the Trickanalysing system that I’ll personally be using. It is always neat to read about someone’s system.

-Louie

Hocus Pocus Closed!

Well, it’s public now that Hocus Pocus in Fresno has closed. For me, this is the end of the “family magic shop” era. Aside from Stevens Magic Emporium, there really aren’t any prominent family run magic shops in the USA anymore. Yes, there are some smaller ones, but not really any with national/international reach.

I first met Paul and Betty Gross when I was performing at The Big Fresno Fair about a decade ago. They came to the fair and watched my show, and then they introduced themselves. I had done business with Paul Gross long before that. Hocus-Pocus was the second shop to sell my Evaporation trick. The first was Max Krause’s magic shop, but he called me at around 10pm, right after I had sent out an email to magic shops announcing the product. Paul put in an order the next morning and he immediately sold out and reordered.

After Paul’s passing, I continued doing business with Hocus Pocus when Max took over. Max was involved before that, but he became the face of the business at that point. For not being a magician, Max knew a lot about the industry and a ton about collectible magic!

That brings us to today (technically last night) with them officially being closed. Last week I got a call from them giving me a heads up about it, and I immediately booked a flight down to say good by to them. Every magic product I’ve released for the last decade has been through them, and it’s been a great relationship.

It’s sad to see this shop going away, and it was great to chat with them about what’s next. Max is a super smart guy, and he kept his Dad’s dream alive and now he’s working on his dream, and I wish him and the rest of the family the best!

-Louie

The Stop Trick

In my collection of old magic stuff, I had a pack of FAKO cards. This is a deck of gaffed cards and novelty cards.

The pack I had was just the cards without the booklet, so I’m not 100% positive as to what tricks the cards do. One of the cards has a big stop sign on it, and here’s what I’ve been doing with it:

It’s just a second deal until they say stop, and then a timing force for the second time. Every time I do it, the person has a great reaction when they see the card!

-Louie

The Chefalo Knot

One of the tricks in The Bat magic magazine was a description of the Chefalo Knot. This is a series of three knots that are tied into a piece of rope, then dissolve when the ends are pulled. In The Bat it’s mentioned that there are no descriptions of it that are correct. Well, even the description in The Bat wasn’t correct (at least how I read it).

If you ever tried to learn it from Tarbell, the illustrations are incorrect. Here’s the pictures from Tarbell:

In the last picture (fig.51) where the red are is pointing is incorrect. What it should look like is the picture below where the green arrow is pointing:

If you layout the rope with my updated illustration, the trick will actually work.

I put about 90 minutes into figuring out this dissolving knot trick one night and that made me committed to it. I wanted to figure out something to do with it. Since it’s a vanish of three knots, the first logical step was to make them reappear. Then I wanted to add something more, so I added a ring that penetrates onto the middle knot.

I’ll post a video of it when I get a chance.

-Louie

More Bar Magic in Reno

I made it to the White Rabbit Theater for a third time last week to check out close up magic by Phoenix Phenomenal in the bar. I went down with Mickey O and Bri to watch the show.

Phoenix does some great magic, and as a younger person doing 4 close up shows a night at the bar will get him a ton of real world flight time under his belt!

That’s one of the keys to performing, stage time. In comedy they say “Stage time is more precious that gold”. In magic, many people don’t see the value in stage time, and more advice you hear is “charge a lot of money” versus “get on stage and get good”.

Oh, I’m not saying Phoenix was bad, so please don’t read it that way. He’s great, he’s just younger. He doesn’t have the miles on him that someone who’s been doing it longer has. I wish I had a nightly bar gig when I was his age, I would have gotten way better sooner!

-Louie

Close Up Magic in Reno

I was at a conference in Reno last week, and the hotel/casino had a magic theater in it! The first night a few of us went to check out Phil Ackerly do some bar magic. Phil makes the boxes for my Applause Please 2.0 trick, but we’d never met in person, so it was great to see him in real life!

The next night I snuck down again to watch Phil for a little bit.

It was cool to watch how Phil handled a guy who was one of the “can I shuffle those cards” types. He did it without belittling the person or with a lame hack quip. He did it in an honest, heartfelt way. It was so effective that when the guy tried to do it again, all his friends told him to shut up so they could enjoy the show.

It was fun to meet Phil and see the show!

-Louie

What’s Wrong With Magicians?

A magician posted these pictures of himself performing as a Chinese person.

Here’s my response to the picture, which I replied to in a private magician’s group, and not on his public, personal FB page:

I really dislike that magicians still think this is an acceptable way to perform. Performing in “yellow face” has a long history in magic and one that needs to end.

Here’s Jack Chanin (I think, and if I’m wrong, let me know) performing in Yellowface (yellowmask?):

These “characters” are outdated stereotypes. Part of the history of yellowface was to portray the Chinese as monsters and to give them frightening physical features. The long mustaches and fingernails, the bright yellow skin color were to make Chinese people look less human.

Why would any performer who knew its history want to continue doing that?

In my opinion, it’s lazy creativity. In both pictures above, the performer is using the Chinese sticks prop; however, that trick isn’t from China! Instead of putting the energy into creating a unique routine, the performer does something that they’ve seen done before. The thinking is that if someone else has done it, then that’s the way to do it.

I’ve personally walked out of several shows when a performer did stereotype material. There is an exception to this, does the performer have a point of view with what they are doing. Is it social commentary, relating an actual experience, or something like that? In all of the exceptions to this that I have seen, the person never put on a costume.

The moral of the story is don’t do stuff like this.

-Louie

Portland Magic Jam!

In a couple of months, the Portland Magic Jam is happening. I’m not able to go to many magic conventions due to my performing schedule, but this one I’m currently available for! I just registered for it!

They’ve got a great mix of performers/lecturers for this convention. If you’re in the Portland OR area, or looking for a reason to visit, this is a convention worth checking out!

Details at: www.portlandmagicjam.com

See ya there (unless work comes in)!

-Louie

Vintage Magic Props

A little while ago I picked up a magic box with props from the 1960s. Here’s what was in it:

One of the interesting things was the Joseph Silk Gun:

Here’s a video of one of them in action:

The Joseph Silk Gun isn’t something that I’d use in a show, but it’s a very cool prop!

-Louie

Another Vanishing Bottle Idea

Here’s another idea for the Vanishing Bottle.

Effect: You show a bottle and tell a story about a friend paying you back for a beer. You say, “he paid me back with venmo, but as a joke he said it was for an eggplant.” You put the beer bottle into a paper bag. You snap your fingers and bring out an egg plant! You then crumple the bag and toss it over your shoulder to show it’s empty.

That’s it. It’s a simple plot with an easy presentation hook. It is also a non-standard routine for the vanishing bottle.

-Louie